Swimming exercise training (SET) and MitoQ supplementation can mitigate the atrophy and inflammation process in skeletal muscles of male Wistar rats with spinal cord injury (SCI): NF-κB/MuRF-1/proteasome pathway.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of a rehabilitation period with MitoQ supplement and swimming exercise training (SET) on atrophy and the inflammation process in the skeletal muscles of male rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). In the present study, rats were assigned to five groups (n = 7): Sham, SCI, SCI + SET, SCI + MitoQ (250 μM), and SCI + SET + MitoQ. In the training groups, the rats underwent swimming training for 4 weeks, 5 days/week. Motor function was assessed via the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor scale method. The diameter of the skeletal muscle cells, along with the expression of the genes (NF-κB, MuRF-1, proteasome, and myostatin) and proteins (NF-κB, proteasome, and myostatin) were measured using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, real-time PCR (2-ΔΔCT), and Western blot analysis, respectively. Rsults: After 4 weeks, the BBB score in the SCI + MitoQ and SCI + SET + MitoQ groups did not return to normal levels compared to the sham group. MitoQ helped improve the motor function score compared to the SCI group (p < 0.0001). In skeletal muscles, performing SET significantly decreased proteasome (p < 0.0001) and myostatin (p = 0.0003) proteins, as well as myostatin and NF-kB gene expression compared to the SCI group (p = 0.02). SET, MitoQ, and the combination of treatments helped improve motor function and reduce muscle atrophy. Although MitoQ's antioxidant effect on reducing atrophy was not as strong as the combined treatment, it still led to better improvements in motor function.